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Students Experience "Classrooms Of Oppression"

4/15/08

Education students at Texas A&M University will have the opportunity Wednesday (April 16) to witness forms of classroom oppression as shared through stories by the teachers themselves.

"Classrooms of Oppression," an inaugural event, is an interactive experience that will attempt to challenge the ideas and perceptions of teacher prejudice that can be found in today's schools. "More than 130 undergraduate and graduate students are leading and volunteering for this event," said Marlon James, program coordinator and instructor of multicultural education.

Each of the five participating classrooms will have a theme, including race, gender, social class, language and national origin, and will feature skits based on real experiences that happen in classrooms, teacher lounges or school hallways.

"It is our hope that Aggie educators will become more aware of prejudices, their potential harm to students and strategies to prevent these prejudices from occurring in the future classrooms of Aggie teachers," James said.

Classrooms of Oppression will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in Harrington Tower, with tours every 15 minutes. To schedule a tour, faculty, staff and students can visit classroomsofoppression.tamu.edu for more information. Appointments for tours can also be made the day of the event on the first floor of Harrington Tower.

The event is specifically for education majors and is being sponsored by the College of Education and Human Development and the Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture. Doctoral students Marlon James and Kalama Williams serve as the program creators and coordinators.

Click here to view pictures of the event.